We at Alicia Peru are going through the same cycles of human emotion as all of you - denial, anxiety, dread and hope. We as a local small business are self quarantining and trying to stay hopeful for the time when we will leave our homes with confidence and embrace life as we knew it. We hope this forced home time helps us to take stock in the importance of our family units, how we consume products and what we need to think about with respect to our common mother -Earth. In that light we'd like to share a bit about the the behind the scenes aspects of our Alicia Peru private label. We have always been about sustainability and small batch fashion and home accessories - it's just where we have always wanted to navigate. Below are some of the more in depth reasons why.
We hope you and all your loved ones stay safe & heathly during this time - we cannot hold our first responders in higher regard - we are praying they stay strong. Donnate to help keep them safe if you can and by staying at home collectively together let's do our part to flatten the curve.
Patricia & Alicia
Core Values in Manufacturing
Alpaca - Alpaca wool is a renewable fiber that has a much lower environmental impact than most commercial yarns. Compared to conventional wool, each pound of alpaca fiber saves 400 lbs of CO2 and 1,500 gallons of water. Alpacas are mostly raised in the Peruvian highlands by small family owned coops, where each is given at minimum one acre of land to graze, enabling the grasslands ample time to regenerate. Unlike cashmere goats and other herd animals, alpacas have soft hooves and gentle eating habits that limit soil erosion and plant destruction. More importantly, they're sheared only once a year.
Fiber - Alpaca fiber lacks the lanolin of sheep's wool and therefore doesn't require harsh chemicals for it's removal. The raw fleece produces higher yields after processing, due to it's relatively higher fiber diameter and length. Alpaca comes in 23 natural colors that rarely require chemical dyeing for the creation of garments and home accessories. Untreated alpaca fiber is eco-friendly and biodegradable and is less susceptible to abrasion, pilling, and general wear & tear.
Social Responsibility- Alpacas represent not only an important part of Peruvian national identity and daily life, but also an important part of the "slow fashion" movement, which prioritizes a positive impact on workers and the environment over cheap and fast fashion.
We honestly can't predict how the social, public and economic landscapes will look like after the Covid 19 Pandemic begins to subside, who can? What we do know is that we at Alicia Peru are more committed than ever to seek to improve the sustainability of our private label products while maintaining timeless quality and style. A new area of interest for us is to see about incorporating 'recycled' alpaca fibers into our designs and fiber blends with plant based fibers such as bamboo and viscose.
We know that shopping for spring fashions sounds trivial at the moment when the basic needs of health, food and shelter are in the forefront of our minds, but when you do feel in the mood again we hope you will choose to shop local and choose consciously what you consume and purchase. In the meantime, we will continue to upload more in boutique products onto our web store aliciaperu.com
"Life is cyclical, and this is just a phase in the great cycle. We do not need to panic, this too shall pass ." - Bill Gates
Alicia Peru Boutique 10129 Main Street #107B Bellevue, WA 98004 t: 425.502.9292
